by Sandra Beckmeier

swimming to the surface
I see a moon,
a wise old woman
she is
looking upon me
in pantomime with the stars
laughing to the king of insincerity

I ask my inner mind about these
lessons of false pride
trying to be a someone
who isn't exploited
or seen
asking for a little something to write and to read

a blink of an eye,
storytime!
a little boy pounces into a covered wagon and we ride across the plains
with a bobcat running at our side
the Great Depression, all to see the years ahead and the moment of freedom
all that is whispered,
"I wanted you to have something when I died"